Acadia U - Wolfville - Gaspereau
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There is free parking in Wolfville. Stopped on Waterfront Road in front of a chimney sticking out of a roof. Thinking that there could be an info map on the bulletin board I approached the chimney. No map to help find the Botanical Garden but masses of info about Chimney Swifts. And all the time I thought they were Swallows!
from
" The Swift is “A bird best identified by silhouette. The smudge-grey Chimney Swift nimbly manoeuvres over rooftops, fields, and rivers to catch insects. Its tiny body, curving wings, and stiff, shallow wingbeats give it a flight style as distinctive as its fluid, chattering call. This enigmatic little bird spends almost its entire life airborne. When it lands, it can’t perch—it clings to vertical walls inside chimneys or in hollow trees or caves. This species has suffered sharp declines as chimneys fall into disuse across the continent.”
It was the first of three very eventful destinations. The Swift has hooks on its claws and tail feathers. With these hooks it attaches itself to rough surfaces and sleeps vertically. Where I found the chimney in Wolfville originally stood a dairy. When that building and its chimney were
torn down the town became incensed and demanded a replacement so that The Chimney Swifts of Wolfville (actual title on the interpretive structure) would remain and have place to breed. At dusk the Swifts fly into the chimney after a day of catching insects on the fly. The Wolfville video is not as astounding as this video of Swifts in Portland, Oregon
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. Watch this and watch your jaw drop!
I read all the info on the posters and was amazed that this little bird compared to a flying cigar could make it all the way to Peru for the winter. Absolutely astounding.
Continuing in my search for the Botanical Gardens I inquired at a pub. There are many many pubs in Wolfville. It is the hometown of Acadia University and the population doubles in number and diversity during school semesters. The young thing behind the bar informed me that the Gardens were across the street from the Gym??, on University Street –DAH?
I drove; I found University; I saw no Greenhouse!
A man (good looking) in an orange t-shirt was crossing the street. I accosted him with questions. He did have a camera, a big
lensed camera, he must know something. And he did.
The Gardens were on my right side. He was part of the Nova Scotia Naturalists who were presently having a weekend seminar here at Acadia. At one o’clock a tour of the gardens and greenhouse was taking place. He felt sure I could tag along. And I did.
A prized parking spot was found on campus. Taking a picture of the closest building to my van so that I would be sure to find the vehicle again, I went in search of the K.C.Irving Building. Spotting a greenhouse I headed towards the edifice. And edifice it was. Built in 1999 it looked like the rest of the campus buildings, red brick, Doric columns at the entrance and turn of the century woodwork inside. Three sons of the oil magnate K.C. Irving funded and donated The K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre to Acadia University. The sons are alumni and their funding continues. Read all the facts at
There is an amazing students’ lounge inside with leader chairs and sofas, Wi-Fi, and current magazines. Down stairs one finds a state of the art auditorium, meticulous toilets and labs for research and archives. One of the women in the group as well as the leader of the tour works here and she invited the group into her sanctum sanctorum. She has been working here since 1961 mounting dried specimens of plants of Nova Scotia, rare and common. She showed us how she does her gluing on special paper after the plants have dried between pages of a daily newspaper. Even after gluing the specimen must dry for two weeks resting on cardboard separated by little wooden blocks from the other prepared specimens on white paper.
After the inside tour a student took we three who were interested in an outside tour of the garden. The rest of the group went to the herbarium with its thousands of stored specimens, many of them mounted by the afore mentioned woman.
The garden was splendid with medicinal plants, bog installation, manmade waterfall and brook that pumped the water in a continues circle, salt marsh simulation, and scores of native plants looking very familiar to the plants and weeds growing beside and around my cottage in Northern Ontario, albeit I have no Lady Slippers, Pitcher Plants, Red Beech or Gingko.
The whole experience lasted from 13:00 till 15:30. It was now high time to get to my third destination of the day, The Gaspereau Sheep Farm
http://www.gaspereauvalleyfibres.ca. Literally following my nose and having no idea if I would end up at the farm I drove in the general direction as shown on my paper map. The place was still open and as I entered I met a woman and her daughter. The mother told me that she had been here yesterday for the Back to Back Competition and she had won a pair of slippers.
What is Back to Back? Finding out, I was dismayed. And I had waisted my time watching tractors and princesses!!!
http://www.wool.ca/B2B "There is an International Back to Back Wool Challenge spinning competition held every year around the world in countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Japan, USA and Canada. The event may be held in a public location of the team's choice, during the months of May and June, and the rules are the same for everyone. A team consists of 7 handspinners and knitters and 1 blade shearer. The objective is to complete a sweater following the same pattern within 8 hours. Some teams use the event to raise funds for charity, and all teams are interested in promoting the wool industry locally and in establishing a world wide network among the participants. "
The Back to Back Challenge is an event that begins with a sheep that must be shorn by hand and then the spinners spin yarn and then that yarn is knitted into a sweater, therefore the term back to back. It was happening at the Gaspereau Farm and I missed it! DRAT-Damn-Darn!!!
I spent an hour in the wool shop, saw some shorn sheep in a field, observed a very heavily wool laden alpaca and spent $115 for enough wool to make a wave shawl the pattern of which cost $10 from Ravelry and wool from the Gaspereau sheep for a purple hued hat or whatever 113gms can turn into.
The last trick of the day was to find my way back to the campground. There were no signs to follow the day before and as I took the return route again no signs were to be seen. After a stop for provisions (cheated today: baguette, liverwurst with herbs, garlic pickles, orange juice and mayonnaise) once again put trust in my nose and headed back to where I thought the campground lay.
Since it was already past six my nose was given full credit when the sign for the Highbury Campground came into view. Of course remembered buildings were noted along the way and I trusted my memory of the King Chapel Church Tower and a new subdivision going up in all glorious treeless and backyard be-decked fashion.
Only ate half the baguetteand drank half the orange juice. The rest would make a nice breakfast. Too bad it pissed rain all night and was still raining in the morning.
Thank you Macs. Its 11:38 and after a few pic downloads I will make my way to Truro.
Sorry all my shots for May 29 seem to be over 6mb and refuse to download. The three pics are from the internet. :-(
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